Motor Vehicle Wholesaling in Australia - Industry Market Research Report

Screeching to a halt: The effects of COVID-19 have reduced industry demand and revenue

The Motor Vehicle Wholesaling industry has faced difficult conditions over recent years, primarily because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Prior to the pandemic, demand was weakening, causing a sharp fall in new vehicle sales in 2018-19, largely due to slow wage growth and tighter lending regulations. The COVID-19 outbreak accelerated these declines, as uncertain economic conditions led many Australian households to put off buying a new car. Demand rebounded in 2020-21, when high levels of government stimulus and restrictions on household spending contributed to a surge in real household discretionary income and household savings. Despite improved demand conditions, supply constraints have heavily restricted the volume of cars that wholesalers could import and distribute to dealerships and commercial clients. The pandemic severely overstretched the global automotive supply chain, and shortages of key inputs like microprocessors constrained the manufacturing output of most major car manufacturers. Overall, industry revenue is expected to decline at an annualised 4.8% over the five years through 2022-23, to $36.5 billion. This includes an anticipated decline of 0.5% in 2022-23, as a dip in real household discretionary income is set to constrain industry-wide performance.

Industry operators primarily wholesale new and used motor vehicles to motor vehicle dealers and fleet users.

This report covers the scope, size, disposition and growth of the industry including the key sensitivities and success factors. Also included are five year industry forecasts, growth rates and an analysis of the industry key players and their market shares.